Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016)

2016-06-161h 45m

Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.

Related Movies

253293-thumbnail

Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story (2014)

A former U.S. Navy Seal seeks life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness living life as a transgender woman.

250280-thumbnail

Trespassing Bergman (2013)

In the sixties, Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) built a house on the remote island of Fårö, located in the Baltic Sea, and left Stockholm to live there. When he died, the house was preserved. A group of very special film buffs, came from all over the world, travel to Fårö in search of the genius and his legacy. (An abridged version of Bergman's Video, 2012.)

835362-thumbnail

Milan Kundera: From the Joke to Insignificance (2021)

The brilliant Czech writer Milan Kundera has not given an interview in thirty years; nor does he appear in public. How did he become a legendary author? What is so unique about his books?

543327-thumbnail

Amapô (2008)

Through a life story the film deals with issues related to human rights, such as the right to difference. The character's life is presented from others, otherness as a logic. The spectators complete the senses and gradually realize that this is a homosexual who, still in his adolescence, became a transvestite; "Amapoa" is a term that comes from Yoruba and has become transvestite slang for women. The film has a brutal ending, revealing that the character suffered a strong violence. Homophobia. The approach leads to identification with the character and allows reflections on the intolerance of today's society.

543335-thumbnail

Sylvia Plath: Inside The Bell Jar (2018)

The story of the making of The Bell Jar, the unique, semi-autobiographical novel written by American writer Sylvia Plath (1932-63), published in February 1963, shortly before her death.

251345-thumbnail

The World's Worst Place to Be Gay? (2011)

Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could soon be introduced for being gay. The gay Radio 1 DJ finds out what it's like to live in a society which persecutes people like him and meets those who are leading the hate campaign.

249719-thumbnail

Facing Fear (2013)

The worlds of a former neo-Nazi and the gay victim of his senseless hate crime attack collide by chance 25 years after the incident that dramatically shaped both of their lives. They proceed to embark on a journey of forgiveness that challenges both to grapple with their beliefs and fears, eventually leading to an improbable collaboration...and friendship.

251197-thumbnail

La Bare (2014)

Since the birth of the male review in the late 1970s, the greatest male strippers in the world can all be traced back to one club... La Bare Dallas. La Bare gives you a behind the curtains look at the lives, loves, laughs, and loss of the current crop of dancers as well as the man that’s been going strong for over three decades since the club’s inception, Randy “Master Blaster” Ricks.

1290891-thumbnail

We Vogue (2024)

Ballroom voguing has fiercely swept across the world becoming a global phenomenon. Against the backdrop of Spain's contemporary ballroom scene, Jayce and a growing group of Black trans folks have emerged to reclaim the space.

27047-thumbnail

Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema (2006)

A chronological look at films by, for, or about gays and lesbians in the United States, from 1947 to 2005, Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" to "Brokeback Mountain". Talking heads, anchored by critic and scholar B. Ruby Rich, are interspersed with an advancing timeline and with clips from two dozen films. The narrative groups the pictures around various firsts, movements, and triumphs: experimental films, indie films, sex on screen, outlaw culture and bad guys, lesbian lovers, films about AIDS and dying, emergence of romantic comedy, transgender films, films about diversity and various cultures, documentaries and then mainstream Hollywood drama. What might come next?

395269-thumbnail

The Worlds of Philip K. Dick (2016)

An immersion into the life and writings of the extraordinary American science fiction writer Philip K. Dick (1928-82), whose outstanding work predicted like no other the dystopian debacle toward which the chaotic world of the 21st century is inevitably heading.

26723-thumbnail

Imagine: John Lennon (1988)

The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.

250651-thumbnail

The Case Against 8 (2014)

A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

396485-thumbnail

A. K. (1985)

An intimate chronicle of the shooting of Ran (1985), a film directed by the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

689339-thumbnail

Simone Signoret, figure libre (2020)

544237-thumbnail

Birgitta Trotzig (1985)

A conversation with the Swedish author Birgitta Trotzig (1929-2011) , member of the Swedish Academy between 1993 and 2011. Trotzig's language is strongly driven and honored, often dark and hard-to-reach, but with a sharpness penetrating deeply into the reader susceptible to her prose. The main themes of her books are guilt and liberation, often with a Christian vocabulary, and the balance between ethics and ethics.

1443911-thumbnail

Dear Viv (2025)

A tribute to drag superstar, The Vivienne. Friends and family share touching stories of the RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner and her legacy. Her spirit lives on through unreleased footage, showcasing her unique personality and how her passion for entertaining left a mark in the world. Interviews with her dearest drag sisters Baga Chipz, Michael Marouli, Danny Beard, Tia Kofi, Cheryl Hole and more.

837126-thumbnail

No Goodbyes (2021)

Love in a concentration camp. A young Jewish gay man, Otto, is protected by a "kapo" (a fellow prisoner) and an SS guard who unexpectedly ends up saving his life.

397407-thumbnail

Sex, Maracas & Chihuahuas (2016)

A joyful tale filled with music. The rise of radio. The jazz big bands. The legendary clubs and ballrooms. The soundtracks of the great musical films and TV shows. Sex and romance, gangsters, luxury cars and palm trees. From Barcelona to New York, with a stop in Cuba. The birth of Las Vegas. The sound of the maracas. Chihuahuas everywhere. The incredible life story of Xavier Cugat (1900-90).

238690-thumbnail

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (2007)

In this entrancing documentary on performance artist, photographer and underground filmmaker Jack Smith, photographs and rare clips of Smith's performances and films punctuate interviews with artists, critics, friends and foes to create an engaging portrait of the artist. Widely known for his banned queer erotica film Flaming Creatures, Smith was an innovator and firebrand who influenced artists such as Andy Warhol and John Waters.